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United States Patent | 5,562,003 |
Lefebvre | October 8, 1996 |
An apparatus is provided for detecting the level of a liquid in a tank. The apparatus is designed to be connected to a controller that controls a pump so as to switch the pump on when the liquid level reaches a maximum authorized level and to stop operation of the pump when the level of the liquid has gone back down to a minimum level. The apparatus includes a float that is lifted by the liquid and that is guided vertically. The apparatus also includes a magnet that is carried by the float, and at least two switches each having contacts sealed in a capsule. Each switch is fixed in a horizontal fashion to a plate so as to correspond to a predetermined liquid level, and each switch turns on an electrical circuit connected to the controller when the switch is in the magnetic field of the magnet. The plate is disposed in a vertical plane that is parallel to and in close proximity to the displacement of the float.
Inventors: | Lefebvre; Patrick (Pontault-Combault, FR) |
Assignee: | Sauermann Industrie (Pontault-Combault Cedex, FR) |
Appl. No.: | 392043 |
Filed: | February 22, 1995 |
Feb 28, 1994[FR] | 94 02235 |
Current U.S. Class: | 73/308; 73/314 |
Intern'l Class: | G01F 023/46 |
Field of Search: | 73/290,304,305,314,313,322.5,308 |
4371000 | Feb., 1983 | Shinoda | 73/322. |
4395605 | Jun., 1983 | Weston | 73/308. |
4497205 | Feb., 1985 | Zulauf et al. | 73/308. |
4617806 | Oct., 1986 | Sakai et al. | 73/308. |
4748300 | May., 1988 | Anderson | 73/308. |
4771804 | Sep., 1988 | Morales | 73/313. |
5156048 | Oct., 1992 | DeFigueiredo et al. | 73/308. |
Foreign Patent Documents | |||
0397338 | Nov., 1990 | EP. | |
2683316 | May., 1993 | FR. | |
3828520A1 | Mar., 1990 | DE. |